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Innovator Stories

Meet Carolyn Kirk

Carolyn A. Kirk is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), a state economic development agency whose mission is to strengthen the tech & innovation economy across a variety of industries including advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital health, and other emerging tech areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and robotics.

In March of 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker asked Ms. Kirk to organize the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT) to address widespread shortages in PPE. Nearly 100 individuals representing dozens of organizations joined the MERT initiative, and within weeks, dozens of Massachusetts manufacturers had ramped up production of PPE including ventilators, medical gowns, and masks which helped to alleviate the crisis facing frontline workers.  MERT helped pivoting companies produce over 15 million pieces of PPE and other critical items.

Carolyn Kirk was a keynote speaker at Lever’s 2021 Innovation Summit. You can watch her full presentation here.

Innovator Stories

Meet Carolyn Kirk

Carolyn A. Kirk is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), a state economic development agency whose mission is to strengthen the tech & innovation economy across a variety of industries including advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital health and other emerging tech areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and robotics.

In March of 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker asked Ms. Kirk to organize the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT) to address widespread shortages in PPE. Nearly 100 individuals representing dozens of organizations joined the MERT initiative, and within weeks, dozens of Massachusetts manufacturers had ramped up production of PPE including ventilators, medical gowns, and masks which helped to alleviate the crisis facing frontline workers.  MERT helped pivoting companies produce over 15 million pieces of PPE and other critical items.

Carolyn Kirk was a keynote speaker at Lever’s 2021 Innovation Summit. You can watch her full presentation here.

How has your experience as an entrepreneur helped you in the other roles you’ve held—as a mayor, working in the Baker Administration, and now at MassTech?

Early on in my career I worked in management consulting and for large corporations, but I always had the entrepreneurial dream as well. My partner and I ran a small consulting firm for a couple of years and had a proprietary methodology for customer retention that we offered to our clients in the banking industry. We basically developed a predictive model for identifying which customers were at risk of defecting to a competitor, and then how to retain those customers. We were way ahead of our time as there was no technology to support our methodology. We literally had laminated cards that we handed out to front line staff that we called the “Defector Detector” that listed the clues.

I’m fortunate to have had a long and satisfying career in which every role has shaped a subsequent role. Corporate roles taught me a level of professional management I might not have otherwise had. Management consulting was a job focused on problem-solving and that’s what a Mayor does all day every day. Being an entrepreneur teaches fiscal discipline and creativity – both very useful attributes to have in the public sector!

You’re originally from NY. What made you decide to stay in Massachusetts long-term?

I came to Massachusetts to attend college. My hometown of Clinton is a lovely village of 3,000 in the heart of dairy and corn farms in upstate NY. While it is beautiful country, I knew I wanted to be closer to a large city. I fell in love with Boston College because the campus had a community feel but was proximate to Boston via the Green line. After graduation, Boston just made it so easy to stay. Between friends, jobs, and apartments in Brighton, Newton, Cambridge, Salem and eventually a home in Gloucester, it was an easy decision to lay down roots in this area.

What were some reasons you decided to run for mayor of Gloucester? What are some of the things you’re most proud of from those years?

As my oldest child entered the Gloucester public school system, I knew I wanted to have some influence over public policy and education, so I ran for School Committee and won on my first try. What started out as less than altruistic motivation turned into a passion for public service. I had always worked in industry and not been exposed to the public sector, and here I discovered the opportunity to make lasting change with like-minded people. We built a coalition and emerged with an upset victory into the Mayor’s Office, focused on values such as quality of life in all neighborhoods, support for education, diversifying the economy, fiscal stability, professionalism, and transparency, to name a few. 

I am probably most proud of the groundbreakings we held for a new elementary school, which was funded without turning to the taxpayers for an override of Prop 2 ½, as well as a new downtown hotel, which generates jobs and tax revenue for the city and vitality for our Main Street. Another proud moment was when 2,000 people made the trek to sign the blades of the wind turbines as they lay waiting to be hoisted up over the city as a symbol of our commitment to combating climate change. 

What was it like in the early days of the pandemic as you worked to get MERT off the ground? What was most challenging? What surprised you about the process and outcome? 

The early days of the MERT were extremely hectic, with many late nights, lots of Zoom calls, and discussions about how to organize and structure the group. But it was also extremely inspiring – it really showed the best of the community of innovators and thought leaders that we have here in Massachusetts. So many top leaders stepped up to the plate from manufacturing, health care, and academia. Everyone brought their expertise to the table, but also actively listened, learned, and responded with ideas that helped the group move forward quickly.

Even in a crisis, the system to get PPE and other critical items approved is a daunting one. The success of the MERT was due to the experts we had at the table, who brought real world expertise to the effort and helped these Mass. companies quickly address the testing, design, and regulatory needs to get their products approved.

The fact that the MERT helped produce over 15 million pieces of PPE and other critical items, in such a short amount of time, is the glowing success.

How did you originally learn about Lever? What has it been like working with Lever on the COVID Challenge series? 

Lever has been a great partner on the COVID Innovation Challenges, which were launched as a side project from the MERT effort. The outpouring of interest from the Mass. manufacturing community showed us that there were so many solid ideas from entrepreneurs and innovators across the state. Lever’s background working with both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs within established companies helped us as we developed each of the four challenges and as the companies worked through the process. I’m confident that all of the participants gained valuable insight from their work with Lever, and we know of a couple of examples where they have gone on to win subsequent innovation awards of their own and substantial follow up contract work from the Department of Defense, for example.

How has your experience as an entrepreneur helped you in the other roles you’ve held—as a mayor, working in the Baker Administration, and now at MassTech?

Early on in my career I worked in management consulting and for large corporations, but I always had the entrepreneurial dream as well. My partner and I ran a small consulting firm for a couple of years and had a proprietary methodology for customer retention that we offered to our clients in the banking industry. We basically developed a predictive model for identifying which customers were at risk of defecting to a competitor, and then how to retain those customers. We were way ahead of our time as there was no technology to support our methodology. We literally had laminated cards that we handed out to front line staff that we called the “Defector Detector” that listed the clues.

I’m fortunate to have had a long and satisfying career in which every role has shaped a subsequent role. Corporate roles taught me a level of professional management I might not have otherwise had. Management consulting was a job focused on problem-solving and that’s what a Mayor does all day every day. Being an entrepreneur teaches fiscal discipline and creativity – both very useful attributes to have in the public sector!

You’re originally from NY. What made you decide to stay in Massachusetts long-term?

I came to Massachusetts to attend college. My hometown of Clinton is a lovely village of 3,000 in the heart of dairy and corn farms in upstate NY. While it is beautiful country, I knew I wanted to be closer to a large city. I fell in love with Boston College because the campus had a community feel but was proximate to Boston via the Green line. After graduation, Boston just made it so easy to stay. Between friends, jobs, and apartments in Brighton, Newton, Cambridge, Salem and eventually a home in Gloucester, it was an easy decision to lay down roots in this area.

What were some reasons you decided to run for mayor of Gloucester? What are some of the things you’re most proud of from those years?

As my oldest child entered the Gloucester public school system, I knew I wanted to have some influence over public policy and education, so I ran for School Committee and won on my first try. What started out as less than altruistic motivation turned into a passion for public service. I had always worked in industry and not been exposed to the public sector, and here I discovered the opportunity to make lasting change with like-minded people. We built a coalition and emerged with an upset victory into the Mayor’s Office, focused on values such as quality of life in all neighborhoods, support for education, diversifying the economy, fiscal stability, professionalism, and transparency, to name a few. 

I am probably most proud of the groundbreakings we held for a new elementary school, which was funded without turning to the taxpayers for an override of Prop 2 ½, as well as a new downtown hotel, which generates jobs and tax revenue for the city and vitality for our Main Street. Another proud moment was when 2,000 people made the trek to sign the blades of the wind turbines as they lay waiting to be hoisted up over the city as a symbol of our commitment to combating climate change. 

What was it like in the early days of the pandemic as you worked to get MERT off the ground? What was most challenging? What surprised you about the process and outcome? 

The early days of the MERT were extremely hectic, with many late nights, lots of Zoom calls, and discussions about how to organize and structure the group. But it was also extremely inspiring – it really showed the best of the community of innovators and thought leaders that we have here in Massachusetts. So many top leaders stepped up to the plate from manufacturing, health care, and academia. Everyone brought their expertise to the table, but also actively listened, learned, and responded with ideas that helped the group move forward quickly.

Even in a crisis, the system to get PPE and other critical items approved is a daunting one. The success of the MERT was due to the experts we had at the table, who brought real world expertise to the effort and helped these Mass. companies quickly address the testing, design, and regulatory needs to get their products approved.

The fact that the MERT helped produce over 15 million pieces of PPE and other critical items, in such a short amount of time, is the glowing success.

How did you originally learn about Lever? What has it been like working with Lever on the COVID Challenge series? 

Lever has been a great partner on the COVID Innovation Challenges, which were launched as a side project from the MERT effort. The outpouring of interest from the Mass. manufacturing community showed us that there were so many solid ideas from entrepreneurs and innovators across the state. Lever’s background working with both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs within established companies helped us as we developed each of the four challenges and as the companies worked through the process. I’m confident that all of the participants gained valuable insight from their work with Lever, and we know of a couple of examples where they have gone on to win subsequent innovation awards of their own and substantial follow up contract work from the Department of Defense, for example.

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